Irish Arts Review

Highlights from the Turner CollectionAuthor(s): Barbara DawsonSource: Irish Arts Review Yearbook, (1991/1992), pp. 55-60Published by: Irish Arts ReviewStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20492667 .

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IRISH ARTS REVIEW

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE TURNER COLLECTION

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i M W Tumner, A Ship against the Mewstone at the Entrance to Plymouth Sound, c. 1814.

Watercolour on paper, 15.6 x 23.7 cm. (NGI cat. no. 2413)

Ehe collection of watercolours by Joseph Mallord William Turner in

the National Gallery of Ireland, which is exhibited annually in January, continues to enjoy a loyal and appreciative audi ence. It is a measure of the artist's appeal that both the exhibition and the lectures

which accompany it still realise excellent attendances. The collection is comprised of thirty-six watercolours and drawings, thirty-one of which were bequeathed by

Henry Vaughan in 1900. The Vaughan Bequest, divided in the main between the National Gallery of Scotland and the National Gallery of Ireland, was describ ed in The Atheneum Magazine (December 1899) as being 'singularly choice and in deed hardly paralleled in this Country'. The watercolours were all the more re markable for their excellent condition. Vaughan never framed his watercolours rather he stored them in portfolios in strong boxes, thus preserving them from the harmful effects of light. Such conser vationist practice was unusual at that time, as the dangers of light on water colour were not generally recognised until the publication of the Russell and Abney Report on the Action of Light on Watercolours in 1888.

Henry Vaughan (1808-1899) was, though somewhat of a recluse, a true connoisseur in the nineteenth century tradition, who devoted his life and con siderable fortune to the collection and study of fine art. The provenance of many

The fine collection of watercolours by Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851)

in the National Gallery of Ireland spans the artist's career.

Barbara Dawson, author of the Gallery catalogue on the

Collection, here focuses on some of its highlights.

of the works in this bequest is difficult to establish as Vaughan dealt privately with dealers and agents. He was, however, a good customer of Turner's agent Thomas Griffith. The Swiss sketches in Dublin of around 1841, may have come from this source, Turner having left some of his late sketch books with Griffith to sell for him. It is certain that John Ruskin certainly bought one of these sketchbooks, since on the verso of a sketch of a coastal scene formerly in his collection he has written 'Leaf out of a late time sketchbook in my

possession (bought of Griffity)' (sic). Al though both connoisseurs were collectors of Turner's work, they were not well ac quainted. They certainly knew of each other, as we can deduce from Ruskin's let ter from Interlaken to his secretary (26

May 1866) 'All you have done is right except sending Mr Henry Vaughan about his business. He is a great Turner man. Please write to him that he would be welcome to see everything of mine, but I would rather show them to him

myself... .'Unfortunately we have little or no similar correspondence from Vaughan.

The cohesive groups in the Bequest have remained intact. The National Gallery of Scotland retains the water colours connected with the series Pic turesque Views in England and Wales (1827-1838) and the illustrations for the Poetical Works of Sir Walter Scott (1834). Dublin is fortunate to have a rare early topographical view and also the drawings for Turner's first great series of engraved illustrations, Picturesque Views on the Southern Coast of England. The earliest topographical view in the Dublin collect ion is The West Gate, Canterbury of around 1793. Although it is a finished and signed work, it was never exhibited by Turner. His exhibited watercolours of this period show the marked influence of Thomas Malton with whom he was apprenticed for a period around 1789. St Anselm's Chapel, Canterbury Cathedral (Whitworth Art Gallery, University of

Manchester) believed to have been paint ed about the same time as The West Gate, was exhibited in 1794 and reveals a topographical precision and shading

which is reminiscent of Malton. The West Gate, by comparison is less studied; the brushwork is looser and the cool washes of blue and grey lend serenity to a scene in which the emphasis has shifted slightly away from architectural detail. The man slouched against the doorway of the

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IRISH ARTS REVIEW

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE TURNER COLLECTION

shack, and the cabriolet crossing the bridge over the River Stour, lend the scene a human aspect and are part of Turner's observations of daily life in Canterbury.

In 1811, Turner received his first major commission to supply a series of drawings for Picturesque Views on the Southern Coast of England. His ensuing designs, carried out on small sheets of paper measuring approximately 15 x 23 cm proved to be the most complex and intricate he had produced to date. Dublin has two of these watercolours: A Ship against the Mewstone at the entrance of Plymouth Sound (cat. no. 2413) and Clovelly Bay (cat. no. 2414). The former is a dramatic seascape in true romantic spirit, with a small merchant

man and its crew pitted against the force and unpredictability of the sea. The tur bulent sky and sea dominate and the strength of the storm is indicated by the dark brooding tones applied to both. The vessel is no longer in danger. Its sails have been reefed and it will soon enter into calmer waters. Turner had first hand knowledge of rough seas around the

Mewstone as he had made a boat journey across the Sound to Burgh Island in 1813. His companion, Cyrus Redding, recounts how the journey was extremely rough with high seas running. But while other members of the party were sea-sick, Turner remained unperturbed, studying intently the movement of the waves. This

monumental scene is all the more im pressive as it is executed on such a small scale. In contrast, Clovelly Bay, the other drawing for the Southern Coast series is a tranquil scene conveying daily life on a

J M W Turner, The West Gate, Canterbury, Kent, c. 1793.

Pencil and watercolour on paper, 28 x 20.3 cm. (NGI cat. no. 2408)

Devon beach. This view shows us Bucks Mills just down the coast from Clovelly.

Clovelly's hazardous stepped street leading down to the pier is visible in the left background. In the far distance on the right is Lundy Island. The heat and lang our suggested by Turner's hazy blue sky and calm sea are echoed in the easygoing

manner of the fishermen who load the donkey's panniers with burnt lime, or perhaps, seaweed, which was used as a compost. Burning lime was a common practice in Devon as the lime was used to neutralise the acidic soil. In the fore

ground, on the beach in front of the an chored fishing vessels is the mouth of the western kiln, one of those used for burn ing limestone. Access to the beach around Clovelly was hazardous and donkeys were the best mode of transport. This is why they always feature pro minently in views of Clovelly Bay.

The view of Assos, the ancient Greek port formerly known as Mysia, is another watercolour in the Dublin collection which was commissioned for publication. It was published in Finden's Landscape Illustrations of the most Remarkable Places

mentioned in The Holy Scriptures (c. 1832-1855). Turner was commissioned to produce twenty-six drawings for this book which sought to satisy the increas ing demand for guidebooks to the anti quities of the Holy Land. The nineteenth century saw a renewed interest in Hellen istic civilisation and the ancient sites of

Palestine. The Grand Tour, which had previously culminated in a sojourn in Rome, was now extended to cover the an cient sites of the Middle East. Despite his peripatetic nature and his knowledge of the scriptures (his first heroic landscape exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1800 was The Fifth Plague of Egypt), Turner had never visited the Holy Land. For this series of views he was obliged to rely on contemporary drawings of the area.

This view of Assos (cat. no. 2424) is bas ed on a drawing by Sir Charles Barry (1795-1860) who toured the region with

David Baillie between 1817 and 1820. Turner particularly liked Barry's drawings and fourteen of his watercolours for Finden's Bible are based on his work.

JM W Turner, Loading Donkeys in Clovelly Bay, N. Devon, c. 1822.

Pencil and watercolour on paper, 14.7 x 22.6 cm. (NGI cat. no. 2414)

J M W Turner, Assos, Turkey, 1832/34. Ink and watercolour on paper, 14 x 20.5 cm. (NGI cat. no. 2424)

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IRISH ARTS REVIEW

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE TURNER COLLECTION

Turner's view of Assos portrays the desola tion of a ravaged city. The ruined battle

ments and classical lintel are the only remaining testimonies to its noble past. The desolation is heightened by the presence of a few tourists who clamber over the ruins and a sense of eeriness is suggested by a large pale sun sinking into the Mediterranean beyond the ancient gateway. The nimbostratus is gathering, a sign of forthcoming rain.

Throughout his life Turner enjoyed working in series of watercolours. Some of these groups were created as a result of commissions, usually from publishers, others were carried out independently for private sale. There are two finished water colours in the Dublin collection: Fishing Boats on Folkestone Beach (cat. no. 2415) and A Shipwreck off Hastings (cat. no. 2411), both most probably intended as part of a series for publication and not finally selected. Both scenes are on the English coast and were carried out be tween 1825 and 1830. Turner was working on two publications during this period: Picturesque Views in England and Wales and The Ports of England. A Shipwreck off Hastings, although slightly larger than the other designs for the Ports series, is similar in subject and technique-the stippling evident in this work was a feature of all Ports designs. The heavy swell of the sea has succeeded in capsizing and breaking up the boat, casting the unfortunate crew into the water. Their plight is acute; some grasp onto the up turned vessel while in the foreground, almost indiscernible against the sea's dark surface, is the lone figure of a sailor flung

J M W Turner, St Anselm's Chapel, Canterbury Cathedral, c. 1793.

Pencil and watercolour on paper, 51.7 x 31.4 cm. Whitworth Art Gallery, University of Manchester.

across a broken plank. The waves plunge and rear rhythmically; a jagged wave to the right of the picture rises cliff-like as impenetrable as those behind it and its jagged edge is repeated in the top of the broken mast to the left. The crowd gathered on the shore look on, helpless to alleviate the crew's suffering. The colour ing is magnificent. The golden cliffs are lit up in contrast to the predominantly dark tonal range. The watercolour was engraved in 1866 by William Miller and it appears as one of the 180 engravings in the Turner Gallery published in 1878.

Fishing Boats on Folkestone Beach is a lovely sunset scene. Turner used a view of Folkestone in his Southern Coast and also in his England and Wales. As every hour of the day is exquisitely rendered for the England and Wales series, it may have been that Turner intended the Dublin Folke stone to be included. However, it is much smaller than any of the England and Wales drawings (which measure approximately 28 x 40 cm) and it has been suggested that the watercolour was intended for The Ports of England series-there is a significantly marked use of stippling in this work. The fishing boats are drawn up on the shore and the fisherfolk are sorting out their catch. Being the nearest point on the south coast to France, Folkestone was notorious for smuggling.

In this view, unlike his other scenes of Folkestone, Turner does not make a speci fic reference to smugglers, although the

men to the right, oblivious of the fisher men and women, are engaged in some suspiciously private activity. The water colour was engraved in 1844 by J Cousen for Dr Broadley's Poems, intended for private publication, though no evidence of the publication exists. It was published in 1867 for Art and Song where it illustrat ed a poem, Dawn on the Shore, by the Irish poet, William Allingham.

Turner was enchanted with Venice and made three trips there, the first during his 1819 visit to Italy. His second visit was

made in 1833 and his final return in 1840. He produced 170 Venetian watercolours in all, twenty-six of which lie outside the

Turner Bequest. The Vaughan Bequest in cludes nine of these twenty-six. Six are in

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] M W Turner, A Shipwreck off Hastings, c. 1828. Watercolour on paper, 18.5 x 28.5 cm (NGI cat. no. 2411)

J M W Turner, The Grand Canal, Venice, 1840. Watercolour on paper, 21.8 x 31.9 cm. (NGI cat. no. 2426)

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IRISH ARTS REVIEW

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE TURNER COLLECTION

the National Gallery of Scotland and three are in Dublin. The National Gal lery of Ireland has also one unfinished view namely, The Grand Canal from below Rialto Bridge (cat. no. 7512), presented by Robert Dunthorne Bryce in 1972. It dates from Turner's first visit to the city and was probably intended to be included in a series of Italian drawings Turner produced for his old friend and patron, Walter Fawkes. The other three works date from 1840 when Turner arrived in Venice via Bregenz on the Swiss-Austrian border.

Dublin has one softly coloured view of evening time in Bregenz on the shore of Lake Constance (cat. no. 7511), also pre sented by Robert Dunthorne Bryce in 197 2. The sun sinking beyond the horizon is mirrored on the calm waters of the lake and the warm opaque colouring stretches across the sky, lighting up the town on the left. Only the lofty dome of the Martins turm is discernible. The scene is por trayed in black chalk, gouache and pencil on blue paper. It was unusual for Turner to use blue paper at this late stage in his career and this work may have been originally planned for a series which was eventually abandoned. There are two other works which correspond closely with it in style and technique and are tentatively identified as Heidelberg (Private collection) and Locarno (Cour tauld Institute of Art). All three could have been planned for the same series. Only the Dublin work, however, is on blue paper. This may suggest it was intended for a separate series or else that the supports of the other two drawings have faded.

The three Venetian scenes of 1840 reveal intricate compositional features and subtle colour harmonies which are associated with Turner's later works. The Grand Canal Venice (cat. no. 2426) shows the approach from the Molo to the Canal. In the distance to the right is San Giorgio

Maggiore. The topographical features are

slight, with the buildings being delineat ed by fine vertical lines in red ink which give the impression of an impregnable for tress. Above, dark thunderclouds herald the forthcoming storm. Venetian storms are spectacular and by the mid-nineteenth

century were actually mentioned as an attraction in guidebooks. This work is one of four storm scenes which Turner produced in his last group of Venetian watercolours. All four works were sold,

perhaps because the patrons could more easily identify with them than with the brilliant colour views of the city in calm weather.

The view of The Doge's Palace and the Piazzetta (cat. no. 2423) seen from the open waters of the Bacino was one of Turner's favourite viewpoints in Venice. A hazy atmosphere prevails. The lumin ous rosy red of the Doge's Palace, contrasts with the delicate pale violet of the Zecca and glows vividly under the brilliant yellow sky while being reflected in the water below along with the black shadows of the gondolas. Turner skilfully weaves these brilliant colours into a harmonious patchwork of colour which shimmers before our eyes.

In his autobiography William Callow (1812-1908) recounts how, when he was relaxing in a gondola one evening, he came across Turner in another, sketching San Giorgio Maggiore brilliantly lit up by the setting sun. He confessed 'I felt quite ashamed of myself idling my time away

while he was hard at work'. The view of San Giorgio Maggiore (cat. no. 2417) in the Dublin collection has a mysterious thea trical air about it. The church and the campanile almost dissolve into the brilliant sky only to reappear as delicate reflections on the water below. The light ly applied washes of colour allow the off

white paper support to show through, for ming part of the canal's surface. By overlapping the delicate brushstrokes, Turner increases the brilliance but not the density of colour. This is particularly obvious in the area behind the church. In cidentally, it is doubtful whether the view is actually of San Giorgio Maggiore, since some architectural discrepancies are ap parent, particularly in regard to the rela tionship of the church to the campanile. It may well be a church on another island.

But, on reflection, it is probably more ac curate to refer to this view as a capriccio. When Turner left Venice he travelled

northwards through Innsbruck to the town of Passau which is situated on the conflux of the rivers Danube and Inn. The National Gallery of Ireland is very fortunate to possess a particularly fine view of Passau (cat. no. 2418). Turner presents us with a brilliantly lit panorama suffused by a hazy atmosphere, the cause of which is suggested by the steamboats to the fore of the drawing. The pale diffused lighting creates a dreamlike transient

landscape which dissolves into the back ground. Minutely applied brushstrokes break up the light, allowing the architec tural detail to emerge. In the centre, the dome of St. Stephen's Church is visible, while to the right, above the steeple of Salvator Kirche, the Oberhaus com mands a dominant view of the Danube. The dramatic view of Passau underlines the passion and energy with which Turner responded to nature in his later years and its complicated composition is a testa

ment to his mastery of colour harmony. Another watercolour which does not

belong geographically to this series, but which is very similar in style and tempera ment to the Venetian works is Great Yar mouth Harbour, Norfolk (cat. no. 2425). Turner visited Yarmouth on his tour of the east coast in 1824 and it is not certain whether or not he ever returned. This is a contemplative study of the harbour

with a solitary figure observing the fiery sunset. Is Turner reflecting on his own life and last years? Yet again Turner's brilliant yellow sun lights the sky and, as with his San Giorgio Magiore, the scene is pervaded by a certain dreamlike quality.

The Dublin collection includes other interesting sketches from Turner's Euro pean Tours. The two Alpine scenes from 1836, Tete Noire Mountain near Villar d'Arene (cat. no. 2421) and An Alpine Pass in the Val d'Aosta (cat. no. 2419) are parti cularly fine, and when viewed together appear to have been carried out within the same short period, so similar are the changing faces of the mountain ranges. Turner invited Henry Munro of Novar to accompany him on his trip and Munro recounts that he doesn't remember 'Col ouring coming out 'till we got into Switzerland', so it is quite conceivable that these sketches were coloured on the spot, although this is always difficult to ascertain with Turner's work.

The watercolour drawings are on view every January, when daylight is at its weakest, as was stipulated by Henry Vaughan's Bequest, thus ensuring their continued preservation.

Barbara Dawson

Barbara Dawson is Director of the Hugh Lane

Municipal Gallery of Modern Art. She is the author

of the catalogue, Turner in The National Gallery of Ireland, (Dublin 1989).

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